The courtroom fell into a stunned silence as the unedited hotel hallway surveillance video of Sean “Diddy” Combs and singer Cassie Ventura was shown to the jury. Now that video—long speculated, fiercely fought over by Diddy’s legal team, and previously hidden from the public—has been released. What it reveals is nothing short of explosive: a disturbing window into the alleged abuse Cassie suffered and the brazen tactics Diddy reportedly used to silence the truth.

At the center of this new testimony is Israel Flores, a former security guard at the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles who now serves as an LAPD officer. Flores was on duty in March 2016, when he responded to a call about a distressed woman on the sixth floor. What he encountered shocked him then—and it continues to rock the courtroom today.

Flores testified that he arrived to find a disheveled, terrified Cassie crouched in a corner, her face hidden under a hoodie. On the floor nearby lay the remains of a shattered flower vase. Diddy, wrapped only in a towel, allegedly told Flores they were “just arguing.” But Flores quickly noticed Cassie had a visible purple eye, and she was clearly trying to retrieve her phone and escape the room. According to Flores, Diddy told her, “You’re not leaving.”

In a moment of defiance that’s earning Flores praise across the internet, the guard physically blocked Diddy from following Cassie, giving her enough time to collect her belongings and flee to the hotel valet area. But the story didn’t end there.

Diddy reportedly followed Flores out, tossed a sack of cash at him, and said, “Don’t tell anyone.” Flores refused. “I don’t want your money,” he testified, making it clear to the jury that he had no intention of being bought off. He stayed with Cassie until a black SUV picked her up, and she again insisted she didn’t want to call police—she just wanted to leave.

But Flores wasn’t done standing up to the music mogul. After Cassie left, Flores returned to Diddy’s suite with the hotel manager. When Diddy suspected he was being recorded, he allegedly snatched the manager’s phone and later attempted to grab Flores’ phone as well.

That’s when Flores claims he pinned Diddy to the wall, forcing him to back off. The former guard said he made sure the incident was fully documented in an official report.

Perhaps most chilling? Flores says that when he returned to work two days later, the surveillance footage had mysteriously vanished. Luckily, he had taken the precaution of recording parts of the video with his own phone—just to show his wife, because he “knew no one would believe him otherwise.” That recording would later become key evidence.

During court proceedings, portions of this hotel footage were shown, though the media and public could not see the video directly. However, journalists described the reactions: jurors were visibly disturbed, and Diddy’s legal team scrambled to keep certain evidence under wraps. Defense lawyers fought to limit who could view additional videos—allegedly of “freakoffs” Cassie was coerced into participating in—and courtroom logistics were rearranged to shield screens from public view. Even then, reporters rushed in just to catch a glimpse of the jury’s reactions.

Diddy, seated beside his attorneys, remained stone-faced throughout, whispering anxiously to his team. According to reports, he appeared tense, especially as court officials debated whether more damning videos would be shown in future sessions.

Flores’ testimony paints a picture of not just physical abuse, but an aggressive cover-up: attempted bribery, intimidation, and missing evidence. And if his account is to be believed, Diddy didn’t just assault Cassie—he tried to erase any trace of it. The bribe, the hotel manager’s phone snatch, the missing surveillance footage—it all points to an orchestrated effort to bury what happened in that hallway.

The court has yet to decide whether more of the rumored “freakoff” videos will be shown, but with Cassie’s testimony ongoing and the media watching like hawks, more revelations are likely coming. One thing is clear: the version of Diddy once known to fans and the public is rapidly unraveling.

As Popcorn Planet’s Andy Signore put it: “Flores is a hero.” In an industry plagued by silence and power imbalances, one hotel guard dared to stand up to a superstar and tell the truth. And now, thanks to his courage—and the damning footage—the world is watching.